Milan, in hard-hit northern Italy, is looking to open up more space for bicycle and pedestrian commuters as it plans for its slow return from lockdown. It hopes to prevent a spike in car use and to ease pressure on transit.
The plan, called Strade Aperte, or Open Streets, will shift space from cars to bikes and walkers along 35 kilometres of city streets. It's part of an ongoing plan to transform traffic in the city center. It will include temporary cycle lanes, new, widened pavements, pedestrian and cyclist priority streets, and reduced speed limits.
The city is scheduled to start a slow reopening beginning sometime next month, and officials plan to limit the capacity of metro services, normally used for 1.4 million trips a day to 400,000, making the need for personal commuting space even more urgent.
Italy in general, and the industrialized Milan area in particular, have been under EU warnings over pollution levels. Italy is a far less bike-friendly area than many other European countries, with over 60% of its trips made by car. Local officials hope to begin changing that.
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